Long-running children's program creates first Muppet with parent in jail

"Sesame Street" has created its first Muppet whose parent is in jail. And some people aren't happy.

The long-running children's program show launched the "Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration" educational program last week as a way to help kids cope with one or both parents being in jail, according to the Sesame Workshop.

"Alex" has blue hair, a green nose and wears a hoodie. He seems like any other inhabitant of "Sesame Street," except his dad is in jail.

"I just miss him so much," he tells a friend on the program. "I usually don’t want people to know about my Dad."

The program outlines a number of ways that adult caregivers can help a young child cope, as well as tips for the incarcerated parent, according to Business Insider.

"Coming from a Muppet, it’s almost another child telling their story to the children," Jeanette Betancourt, vice president of outreach and educational practices at the Sesame Workshop, told NBC News.

But some aren't fans of the idea.

Mike Riggs, a blogger with Reason Magazine, wrote, "Congratulations, America, on making it almost normal to have a parent in prison or jail."